Boring.

That’s how my meditation went today. Sometimes I think I only continue meditating to achieve those rare instances of divine celestial satisfaction reserved for other-worldly meditations where I enter another dimension or something 🙂 It happens!

Meditation is truly a grab-bag. You never know what you’ll get. There are some days when closing my eyes is a struggle, let alone actually relaxing. But then I realize meditation is working even if you don’t feel it.

Published studies have documented the many physical and mental health benefits of meditation, including decreased pain, better immune function, less anxiety and depression, a heightened sense of well-being, increased focus and creativity, greater happiness and emotional self-control.

I can’t think of a better self-improvement tool, which made me wonder why so many people avoid meditation or begin meditating only to give it up.

It’s not like it’s push-ups y’all!

The most difficult thing about meditation is not sitting still- it’s not taking time out from your busy day. It’s not that it’s boring sometimes either.

Here’s what’s really going on: Most likely you have spent years building of this image and a certain picture of yourself- it can be a generally positive or negative picture of yourself.

Your image includes your job title, the roles you play, what you do, how you do it, what others think of you, and what you think of what others think of you.

So you have this picture in your mind of who you are and it feels so damn solid that you really believe this is you. You’re only as happy as you meet the mark (image). The closer you are, the more you attain this image, the more attached you become to it.

Suppose one day it was taken from you. All those years you’ve worked at building this picture of yourself and your life…

That’s meditation.

In meditation, you are just sitting with yourself. And guess what? Nobody sees you. The world out there is not giving you any input on how you should be or shouldn’t be. And believe it or not, this may sound like a relief, but for many it’s downright scary! Everything that matters to the image and picture of yourself, doesn’t matter at all in meditation.

This can be unnerving because a lot of us judge what we do, how we do it, what type of person we are on the feedback and input of our external world.

What we do, and even what we think, is based on input all around us and when you don’t have that input  it’s almost like starting all over, building yourself from scratch.

You are deconstructing the picture(image) and developing the self(true/authentic self).

There is a certain comfort that comes with living the status quo, but essettially you’re restricted by the input of others and your environment.

Living from your authentic self, the rewards are limitless. Resilience, confidence, self awareness. You’re free to be yourself, not an imitation of who you think you should be.

Peace and Be Well,

Laura